Si8 



THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



Denmark, 938; Norway, 938; Holland, 

 606; Germany, 472; Sweden, 395 

 Belgium, 320; United States, 191 

 Great. Britain and Ireland, 172 

 France, 163; Italy, 120; Austria-Hun- 

 gary, 73; Eussia, 22. The number for 

 Massachusetts is 654, placing that 

 state above Holland. As De Candolle 

 has shown, the supremacy of Switzer- 

 land has been maintained for 200 

 years. He gives political and social 

 causes which he holds would account 

 for it. These also apply in large meas- 

 ure to Denmark, Norway and Holland. 



TEE SCIENTIFIC CAREER IN 

 TEE UNITED STATES 



The number of scientific men of 

 distinction would tend to be in pro- 

 portion to the total number of scien- 

 tific men a generation ago rather than 

 at present, and the United States can 

 not expect to have nearly one tenth of 

 the eminent scientific men of the 

 world. Professor Pickering found 

 (The Popular Science Monthly, 

 October, 1908, and January, 1909) 

 that of the 87 scientific men who were 

 members of at least two foreign acad- 

 emies, six were Americans, as com- 

 pared with 17 from Prussia, 13 from 

 England and 12 from France. In so 

 far as our scientific production is so 

 measured, the reference is to a genera- 

 tion ago when our universities wove 

 only beginning to develop and research 

 work was only beginning to be appre- 

 ciated. It is a striking fact that of 

 the six distinguished Americans, three 

 are astronomers; and astronomy is the 

 only science in which thirty years ago 

 the facilities for research work in this 

 country were equal to those of the 

 leading European nations. Of the re- 

 maining three, two have not been en- 

 gaged in teaching, and the third has 

 been practically freed from teaching 

 for his research work. 



It is not possible for men to earn 

 their livings by scientific research. 

 Like other work for the benefit of so- 

 ciety as a whole, and unlike business 

 or professional service which can be 



sold to individuals, it must be re- 

 warded by society. In the past repu- 

 tation, social recognition, titles, prizes 

 degrees, membership in academies and 

 the like have been used as rewards, but 

 these form a fiat currency which is 

 now debased and scarcely passes in 

 this country. It presupposes that the 

 scientific man has independent means 

 of support, and the group from which 

 he can come is comparatively small. 

 The method has succeeded in Great 

 Britain, but in our democracy we can 

 not afford to keep a leisure class for 

 certain desirable bye-products. It is 

 in every way better and cheaper to 

 pay for our science. Germany owes 

 its leadership in the nineteenth century 

 to the provision of highly regarded 

 university chairs given as a reward 

 and as opportunity for research. 



Such opportunity for scientific re- 

 search as exists in the United States 

 is also chiefly due to the universities. 

 Of our thousand leading scientific men, 

 three fourths earn their livings by 

 teaching, nearly all in a few universi- 

 ties. These institutions deserve credit 

 for what has been accomplished and 

 responsibility for the fact that we 

 have failed to equal Germany, England 

 and France in the production of scien- 

 tific men of high quality. There are 

 many positions and many scientific 

 men, many students and many execu- 

 tive officers. But our colleges and 

 professional schools are not of univer- 

 sity grade, our graduate students are 

 not the men of exceptional ability 

 selected from the whole people, but, as 

 a group, men preparing to follow a 

 safe and humble career; safe, so long 

 as no offence is given; humble, unless 

 it leads to an administrative position. 

 The professor is subjected to official 

 routine and executive machinery; his 

 salary, at best but meager, his work 

 and even his position are dependent 

 on the will of a superior official. We 

 may hope that this is only a temporary 

 phase in university development, corre- 

 sponding to similar conditions in poli- 



